Nolander by Becca Mills

Beth lives in a small town, where news travels fast. She's a long time sufferer of panic attacks, but recently her attacks have increased. She can't keep a boyfriend because of her episodes, and has trouble staying connected to her brother and her nieces because her sister-in-law hates her. Photography is her favorite hobby, until one day she takes a photo of a man who isn't human.

This story starts good, but fizzles into a fast paced cheese fest. Alright, maybe cheese fest is too strong a phrase, since there were some original ideas in here...I think the cheesy part had more to do with how underdeveloped some of the ideas were. The main character is hard to relate to, she is snarky, but she doesn't emote much, except when she's afraid. And I think the idea of having to choose who she should trust in the William vs Graham conundrum is baloney. William's whole argument is that "No landers" are slaves. If they have no choice in how they live or die, why not screw over the guy who supposedly owns them? So you've got conspiracies and monsters, humans with special abilities, a family member on the run, a Lord who is a sexy rapist who hasn't raped, alternate worlds created workings, little girls who might be able to do things like Beth but they're going undiscovered, and Beth's development isn't quite on par with what it should be...

I think in the end, there are way too many ideas forced into one story. Nothing has time to be explained because we're constantly moving on to the next big thing. And why doesn't anyone have time to exhibit any emotion other than fear? If they aren't afraid they aren't anything else.

So I gave this a three because it was entertaining and the writing is decent. Usually, the writing has to be as bad as the plot to wind up in the 2 category. The plot needed work, and the writing could have been better...

But if you're looking for a fast-paced fantasy with lots of chaos this might be your cup of tea. It just wasn't mine.

Rating 3/5